Echoes
by AntivanMaiden
Summary: Post Blight, Alistair and Anora have been ruling jointly for almost a year, but certainly not happily. Alas, like father, like son...
1. Chapter 1

The Blight was three months gone, and we all still wished that the Queen had gone with it. Don't get me wrong, we didn't want her to die, we just didn't want her to be living in the castle, making our lives hell. We couldn't do anything right. If there was so much as a speck of dust remaining on the furniture, or the roast had one too many carrots, our rights were forfeit. Apparently this had always been the case, according to the girls who had been here longer than me.

I was 17 when I had been hired, almost a year before the Blight began. I had planned on leaving when I turned 20 and had saved up enough to get by. Of course, with what the Queen paid us, we were lucky to stay alive. I had taken to stealing bread from the kitchens, just so that I could put away money that would otherwise be used on food. It did help, however, that we were given lodging at the castle.

Many times, the others had tried to rally for better treatment. It was their belief, however, that the late King was much less brave with his wife than he was with the country, and so they never received any help on his part. The new King, while much kinder, didn't seem to have much of a hold on the Queen. Had I been in his place, I would have taken her down a notch or two…

A hatred was forming between King Alistair and Queen Anora every day. Once while turning down the beds, I had overheard her shouting at him about taxes and the alienage, and he getting equally as angry with her. They didn't seem to have much to talk about, but they always had something to fight about. As this rate, Ferelden would never have an heir. All that work to put another Theirin on the throne, and it wouldn't amount to anything more than a few years. We did, however, get the occasional glimpse of the handsome Hero who put him on said throne. Many of the girls dreamed he would fall madly in love and take one of us away to his estate in Highever. I knew that things didn't just fall in your lap, you had to fight for them.

"You're such a spoil, Scar."  
>"No, I'm a realist. There's a difference. I'm not telling you you're all going to die today, are you? I'm giving you the benefit of at least next week."<p>

None of them saw the world like I saw it. They had lived in the castle around royal life for far too long. One of them flung a handful of flour at me, and that ended the confrontation.

Fighting between the King and Queen was at an all time high. It was as though they couldn't be in the same room without erupting at each other. It became increasingly frequent for one of the servants to walk in on them in a heated argument about something or another. Increase in Dwarven trade in the city, taxation of the Alienage, and even the decision to send extra troops to the Bannorn to help them defend themselves. Politics were hard enough, but when the reigning few were at each others' throats? I couldn't wait to get out of here.

"Trinna, you get your backside up to laundry and start scrubbing. Scarlett, you're on turndown today. I want to see clean sheets on every single bed in this castle. Even the un-rumpled ones." Mamma Sal was the oldest member of the staff, and was the only person that every servant would listen to. She eventually took it upon herself to hand out chores, and since then things have run much smoother. Much less yelling involved.

"Yessum mamma." It was even more fun to use the term, since she hated it so much. Skipping forward, I barely dodged her hand as it swatted out at my backside. She wasn't above a little physical incentive to get us moving. Trinna and I made our way down to the laundry cellar together.

"I wouldn't worry about cleaning all the sheets. She's bound to know that I'm going to skip anything that's not slept in."

"I don't know if that's smart, Scar." Normally Trinna was all about skipping on work. I couldn't possibly imagine what would be so important to her to induce more.

"I'm sorry, did you just say you wanted more work?"

"The Hero of Ferelden is in the castle. I saw him this morning. You know how Mamma S is when he's around." Ahh. There it was. Trinna was one of the worst when it came to the Hero. At least she was pretty enough to maybe get noticed by him. Sal was always giving Trinna jobs that put her as far away from him as possible, since she seemed to get to dreamy eyed around him. Simply made me roll my eyes.

"Yeah, well, the _Hero of Ferelden_ will not be sleeping in every room in this maker forsaken castle. Since he's unlikely to bed you, that means I only need to make sure the guest suite has clean linens." For such a dainty pretty girl, she had a hard fist. If I wasn't careful, I'd have multiple wounds by the end of this week.

I made my way routinely through the castle, systematically laying sheets on beds, and systematically skipping the ones I knew wouldn't be used. Sal could slap me all she wanted, it would be worth it to get a little extra time outside this evening.

I heard voices coming from within the guest suite, and assumed it was some of the servants setting out the Hero's things. I backed into the room, spinning towards the bed without even checking.

"Ah, turn down! See Aedan, I told you Anora would beat them into keeping appearances up." At the sound of the Kings voice, I stumbled, spilling the last of the clean sheets onto the stone floor. Stone makes things dirty….

"Sorry, Highness, Ser Cousland. I'll take my leave." Queen Anora had precisely demand we not interrupt when the Hero was in the castle, and I rather wanted to avoid sleeping on bruises tonight.

I had just gathered the majority of the linens when I happened to turn and slam directly into the King. Anger is not an easy emotion for me to control, but I've gotten good at making it look like embarrassment, or remorse. The sheets went flying to the ground again, and I'm pretty sure my face was as red as Sal's tomato plant.

King Alistair was holding the final sheet, and laughed as he helped my pick up the ones that I had dropped twice now. The more I thought about it, the more I actually _was_ embarrassed.

"My apologies. Ignore me, I am a shadow." As servants, we were not allowed to look royalty in the eye. So why I looked the King directly in his, I have no idea. I realized my mistake, and half a second later, I was staring back at the sheets in my arms.

"Actually, hold a moment my dear." The Hero rose and contemplated something. My emotions had changed so many times in the past 2 minutes, that I wasn't sure what I was feeling. Anger? Fear? Embarrassment? No clue. I obliged, since it was the Hero of Ferelden talking to me. I may not have revered him as a possible fairy tale ending, but he was still the man who defeated the Blight. That was something.

"Come, Aedan, let the poor girl go. Let's save the torment for Anora." The King sat back in his chair, laughing at his friend.

"That's precisely what I'm curious about. Tell me, miss….?" His pause confused me for a moment, as no one higher than the stable boy had ever asked me for my name. Trinna was going to be ridiculously jealous.

"Oliver. Scarlett Oliver." Was I mumbling? I had never been a bumbling mess in front of the nobles before. If anything, I was entirely too candid.

"Fantastic. Tell me, Scarlett, what are your feelings on our _dear queen_, hmm?" If anyone knew what seething distain sounded like, it was me. I hadn't, however, expected the Hero to say her name like that. It makes some sense now, considering how the King felt about her. Had it not been for his distain, it would have felt like a trick question.

"She is the queen, m'lord."

"By the Maker, Alistair, does Anora have all your servants so scared they can't look from the ground?" I only then noticed how intently I had been staring at his shoes. They were very nice too, dark brown leather boots. "Come now dear, I'd like your opinion, off the record. No one here will breathe a word." It was almost offensive, how he spoke of us being scared of the Queen. I was not afraid of the Queen- I was afraid of being alone, in Denerim, without a family or a job.

Relaxing my shoulders and taking a breath, I adjusted my stance and looked the Hero of Ferelden directly in the eyes for the first time ever. A calm, even expression washed over my face.

"I would rather suck on a searing cattle brand than spend more than 30 seconds in her presence." I hoped I wouldn't regret that…

The silence in the room was touchable as they both stared at me, mouths open. I held his gaze, though it was getting increasingly harder. Finally, a huge grin burst across his face, and the room filled with laughter from both of the men.

"Now she's a keeper Alistair." Before I could object, I was being pat on the back by the Hero of Ferelden. THE HERO OF FERELDEN. It was a weird sensation, I can't lie. I repeat- Trinna is going to be incredibly jealous.


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't believe you."

"I'm serious Trinna! That was a complete account of what happened." Alright, she would have been jealous, if I could convince her that I was telling the truth. "It doesn't make sense, but I promise you it happened!"

"Just like you promised me that Sal was giving out cookies, or the Queen wanted me to replace Erlina as her lady in waiting, or that there was a Griffon outside of the kitchens." It was frustrating to watch her pout like this.

"But come on, Sal? Cookies? That was way less believable than this!" Trinna ignored what I was saying, and continued on washing the linens I had previously dirtied. "Fine. Whether you want to believe it or not, I don't really care." Like a child, I stuck out my tongue at her. But I just couldn't resist.

Without being asked, I grabbed a handful of linens and started scrubbing.  
>"Just imagine had he asked me to stay in his room." I clutched the fabric to my breast, mocking her. I put on my best girly smile and batted my eyelashes. All I got in return was a glare.<p>

I never did know when to stop.

"Next he would have invited me to his estate! Within a few years, dozens of little children would be running around!" I mimed everything, continuing to bat my eyelashes like a moron. "I may even name one after you." This time I got hot soapy linens to the face. Neither of us could hold back our laughter at my soaking wet dress and bubble covered face. I threw it back at her, and we continued to laugh as we played in the warm water.

We had stopped paying attention to our surroundings, until we heard someone shout out as they dove to the side to dodge soapy water. My first thought was Sal, and I put on my best 'I'm sorry, I looooove you' face. Instead, it was the Hero.

"Well, you're just full of surprises, aren't you my dear?" My eyes locked directly on him, stifling laughter at the blob of soap bubbles that had stuck itself to his head. Trinna looked mortified in every manner of existence.

He didn't seem to notice the soap on his head, and it was all I could do to keep from laughing. He searched my face for what was so funny, and finally felt it dripping down his cheek. We were both surprised when he laughed as well.

"It's nice to see someone in the servants quarters having any fun." As if he was an old friend, he leaned himself on the door frame. Trinna wouldn't look up at him, playing the part of a good little servant girl, but I saw how his eyes soaked her up. They lingered in places they probably shouldn't have. By the Maker, maybe Trinna really did have a shot at him.

"Is there something we can do for you, Ser?" His gaze never left her as he answered me. "I came to let you know that you missed a couple of sheets in the guest room." Finally, he looked at me. "I would have brought them down, but the lovely Queen chased me out. I was however, able to slide them under the bed, thus buying you some time to retrieve them." He flashed that smile at me, then looked back to Trinna.

"Thank you, ser." Amazement flooded through my body. I don't know how I dodged this arrow, but I would live to turn down another bed. No bruises for this girl tonight.

"I have already met Scarlett, but I wonder, m'lady, what your name is?" Trinna didn't have to look up for me to see that her eyes were wide as saucers.

"Taylahr. Trinna Taylahr, ser." Her hemline was visibly shaking against the wooden planks of the floor. I listened as he told her what a beautiful name she had, and how he had never seen anyone with hair 'quite so black as ebony' or eyes 'quite like a spring sky'. She finally let her eyes meet his, and I snuck out behind him. It isn't like they would miss me. Anyhow, there were linens waiting for me to retrieve them from the guest room.


	3. Chapter 3

"Seriously Anora, do you have a heart at all? Are you even human?" The King's voice echoed down the hallway as the Queen came sweeping down it, out of the guest suite. Her face was beat red, and she looked like she was going to slay something. Pressing myself against the wall, I barely breathed, hoping she didn't notice me and do just that. Just in case she was paying attention, I managed a small curtsy to her as she burned past.

I contemplated not going in at all, but I really needed to get those linens before Sal noticed they were missing. Finally, I decided I would rush in silently, grab the linens, and rush out before the King even noticed I was there. One foot in front of the other…

I rushed in, as planned. Saw the King glowering in a corner. He noticed me, attention swinging with force. I froze- definitely not according to plan. When he saw who I was, his face softened a little. You could tell he was incredibly angry at Anora, but I was not she. So, he calmed.

"Erm, linens…" I was mumbling again. Pointing sideways towards the bed, I continued according to plan, rushing towards the bed. Andraste's ass they were really far under there. How did he get them that far? Rushing turned into me having to flop on my stomach and wiggle my way in to the sheets. It didn't help that this bed was incredibly large. I finally managed to grab onto the corner of a sheet, but I was already under the bed to my waist. It was an incredibly painful struggle, but I wiggled my way back out backwards. Maybe I would have bruises tonight…

Pulling myself to my knees, I yanked harder than I probably needed to on the sheets, and wound up falling backwards on my ass. All of this in front of the King of Ferelden. Boy, I was so incredibly graceful.

When I opened my eyes, the King was standing over me, offering me his hand. And of course, laughing hysterically. I could feel the blood pumping in my face. I suppose it did have to be comical from his point of view.

After helping me up, he wiped the tears that were forming from his laughter. I'm glad he was enjoying himself so much…

"I'm sorry to laugh, really. But that was incredibly funny." I gathered the sheets in my arms, embarrassed as his laugher settled down. As I turned to leave, he placed his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed that." Once again, without thinking, my eyes met his. Maker, he certainly did have pretty eyes…

My eyes snapped back down to my linens, and I nodded my head in response, starting to turn from him.

"What did you say your name was again? Scarlett?" He had remembered my name? Of course, he was the King. He probably remembered everyone's names. Plus, it had been a whole fifteen minutes or so since I'd told him what it was.

"Yes, you're Highness."

"I'm afraid I'm never going to get used to people calling me that. Not used to having people wait on me all the time either." His fingers ran through his hair. He looked stressed. "Aedan only does it cause he knows it bothers me." I didn't say anything in response, and he chuckled a little, breaking the nervous silence. "Well, Scarlett, it was certainly nice running into you again." He placed both of his hands on my shoulders, one on either side. My eyes met his again, and for a moment I couldn't tear them away. He smiled at me after what seemed like an eternity, and I nodded in response, forcing my eyes from his.

I had to get out of there. Without worrying about etiquette, I broke away, curtsying slightly before I turned and almost sprinted out the door. I walked away as fast as I could. I thought I heard him say my name from behind me, but I didn't pay any attention. Blood was pounding fast in my ears, my face was hot, and I almost felt faint. What the hell was going on with me?

Tripping into the laundry room, I was glad to see no one was there. I dropped the sheets into the now lukewarm water and flung myself back against the wall. For some strange reason, I was dizzy, out of breath, and incredibly warm. Probably due to the fact I had sprinted through the castle at top speed, but I had felt like that before I started sprinting, I think. I barely even remembered running through the castle. All I could remember was his eyes, and the way he had smiled at me…

I don't like men. That is… I don't mean I like _women_, I just hadn't found any _men_ I had been interested in yet. I wasn't pretty and thin like Trinna. I wasn't big, but still. It was made very clear to me at an early age that I would never be able to marry above or even at my status, I would have to either die single or marry below me. This meant I would have to marry an elf, or a dwarf, because my family was pretty much at the very bottom of the human food chain. I never had any dreams of grandeur or hope of 'magically becoming a noble' like the other girls did. I was a servant. When I was 20 and had enough money saved, I would leave Denerim and become a soldier, or maybe even a pirate. I wanted to see the world, and I couldn't get that in some stuffy castle or estate.

So when I found myself getting dizzy when the King touched me, I was incredibly irritated with myself. He was the bloody KING. Never in a million years would he think to look at a lowly servant. I needed to make myself realize this now, and then I could move on and get back to real life.


End file.
